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Great Campaign
The Great Campaign was an Imperial Military campaign launched in 9 ABY, aimed at splitting the New Republic in two and seizing Coruscant. Sometimes referred to as Valak's Campaign, planning for the campaign began in late 7 ABY while production of a third Death Star was underway. The centerpiece of the campaign would be this new Death Star, utilizing advanced features and correcting mistakes of its predecessors. The Campaign Explained Build-up As the Post-Endor Imperial power struggle drew to a close and the Republic grew more and more complacent, Bacharan Valak realized that a concerted, direct effort, if properly managed with the same fortitude that Emperor Palpatine had displayed, could succeed at reclaiming much of the Imperial sphere. After quickly, but thoroughly, analyzing the tragedy at Endor and the failure of yet another Death Star, Valak directed his charges to begin construction of a third Death Star. Resources for the project started being collected, and a revamping the weakened Imperial Military took place. When a substantial amount of resources were hassled by the Griffon Alliance, the Empire launched Operation Stardust with the goal of capturing and regulating Pride-1, a strategic station at the center of Tallon's Cut which saw massive amounts of traffic and trade daily. Stardust proved somewhat successful — Pride-1 was captured and renamed to Orbital Station Redemption. But it would not be very long before a joint Griffon-Republic task force liberated the station from the hands of the Empire. Nevertheless, the Empire managed to garner enough resources to satisfy High Command for the time being. Construction of the Death Star continued, and programs were initiated to restore the Military to its former might. Warlords, however, still plagued the Empire, and slowed down progress. Undaunted, High Command moved forward with their plans, and began selecting sectors, systems, and planets in the Republic that would be prioritized and necessary for occupation. They delineated a great "triangle in the galaxy", with the vertices of: Sluis Van, for its extensive naval bases and shipyards in that quadrant of the galaxy; Mon Calamari (or Dac), for its position as the New Republic's military headquarters; and, of course, Coruscant, home to the New Republic Senate and considered the capital of the galaxy. A Stepping Stone is Sought Attempts at seizing Sluis Van in the past had failed; now High Command hoped that with the Death Star, more success would be met. As for Mon Calamari, however, several possible complications presented themselves that could hamper any campaign's success in that section of the Outer Rim. The best possible solution would be to deal with the Caspian Democratic Union and either utilize their sector or occupy it. In 8 ABY, Valak, months away from his coronation as the new Emperor, assigned his close friend and advisor, Grand Moff Jarl Rellik, the task of annexing the Union. Given a sizeable and powerful task force, Rellik set out on the Caspian Annexation Campaign. The campaign would prove futile, however, and after three months of brutal conflict, both sides would sign a non-aggression pact ending that war. Without a substantial location to access the Perlemian Trade Route and/or stage operations towards Calamari, High Command had to deduce a different means of striking at the water world. After eliminating the final opposition to the Interim Ruling Council and Valak, the Vigilant Movement, Valak was coronated Emperor and the Empire was finally reunified. The Death Star was operational and ready for use, and the Military more ready than ever. Valak gave the green light for the start of the Great Campaign. Trail Across the Outer Rim Gastus IV was chosen as the first target of the military. While of little apparent strategic value, High Command was told by Valak to utilize Gastus IV as a testing ground for the superlaser of the Death Star. Gastus IV was not as heavily defended as Sluis Van or other important Republic worlds, and a failure of the Death Star at one of these other worlds could prove disastrous. The Destruction of Gastus IV was short and concise, and a complete success. The Death Star III succeeded High Command's expectations; the world was instantly vaporized, and any resistance was eradicated in under an hour. With the Death Star proven successful, the Empire turned to the next entries on its agenda. As the main Imperial battle fleet and the Death Star itself prepared for an attack on Mon Calamari, other elements of the military spread out. Worlds along the eons-old Corellian Run fell at a devastating pace, and Imperial operations throughout the Mid Rim were larger than successful — the Republic was in a full rout. High Command had not anticipated such a fast advance, as they had pushed through a massive amount of Republic territory too fast for their own supply lines to keep up, and Calamari was in line for invasion. The need to capture resources and resupply the Imperial Military before it hit Calamari was seen, and the main battle fleet, led by Valak himself, was divided. One portion would head ahead and continue towards Calamari, capturing planets along the way, while the other would turn about and, in a joint task force assisted by the Corporate Sector Authority, once again attempt to capture Pride-1. The advance towards Calamari continued successfully, but at the Third Battle of Pride-1, the joint Imperial-Authority task force were repulsed and forced to rejoin their main fleet. Although they had failed to capture Pride-1, Valak ignored the warnings of High Command and went ahead with the invasion. Republic resistance was heavy, as expected; but the Death Star III would once again prove its worth. The Mon Calamari Shipyards were vaporized, and the Republic fleet was yet again defeated and routed. Calamari would soon be occupied. Shockwaves coursed throughout the Republic. The Death Star instilled fear throughout the galaxy, and the Republic saw no way of destroying the station for the time being. Their military was too unprepared and the Senate complacent in their mindset that the Empire was gone for good during their power struggle. Valak, however, had proved them all wrong. With Calamari and most of the Mid and Outer Rim subjugated, the Empire turned its attention towards one of the last remaining "priority" worlds — Sluis Van. The Second Battle of Sluis Van would find the Death Star III's superlaser destroying the world, and the Imperial military seizing the shipyards (which would later be turned to Imperial use). After several more months of fighting and subjugating further worlds, shoring up the infrastructure, the Empire advanced full speed onto Coruscant. The Third Battle of Coruscant was vicious and massive in its scope; the Republic Defense Fleet was routed within the first few days of combat, and the Imperial Navy soon enacted a blockade over the world, sieging the planet for a full month. At the end of the month, however, the Imperial Army invaded the world. Capturing strategic objectives, including the Imperial Palace and the Senate, Imperial control over the world was finalized. The campaign came to an end, and the Imperial Military settled for much needed rest as they went to fortifying their recent conquests. The campaign achieved much for the Empire: it saw the capture of a vast stretch of territory and resorces, the destruction of the vital Mon Calamari shipyards and the occuption of the world, and the capture of the vital Sluis Van shipyards, which would, in turn, prove invaluable for the Empire. It also saw the elimination of most of the Republic Senate and the death of its President, Woren Isaal, and reestablished the Empire as power house to be reckoned with. However, most of what the Great Campaign achieved would be reversed within the coming years. Many historions and military analysts would later argue that if the Empire had continued its advance against the Republic, rather than stop and fortify after capturing Coruscant, it would have wiped out the remnants of the Republic and secure total victory for the Empire in the Galactic Civil War. Leaders *Emperor Bacharan Valak *President Woren Isaal *Admiral Ba'el Korr *General Beaubos Calhoun *Vice Admiral Airion Cimber Category:Conflicts